M9 Field Protective Mask
The M9 Series Field Protective Masks were one of the most famous U.S. gas masks used by our military. Starting production around 1949, the M9 Series remained in standard infantry service until the early 1960's, when it was completely phased out with the M17 Field Protective Mask. But the M9's legacy doesn't end there, when it was replaced by the M17 Series during the early/mid Vietnam War, it continued service with National Guardsmen and Law Enforcement (even though they had specialty gas masks of their own) during protests against the war. It was also issued to Civilian Defense workers and civilians allike (you can find some photos of Vietnam War protestors wearing M9 gas masks), and like the National Guardsmen and Law Enforcement, the M9 series would be used by them up until the 1970's. But there's another very important factor we're missing from the history of the M9's dynasty - Even after the M9 series were phased out by general infantry, policemen, and civilians alike, it CONTINUED in use by the U.S. Heavy Decontamination Crews, Chemical Stockpile Inspectors and Handlers, EOD Personell from its conception in the late 40's until the early 1990's used the M9 as part of their Toxicological Agents Protective (T.A.P.) Gear ensamble. The mask was of course used with the M3 T.A.P. Hood, which was specifically designed for the M9 series. The only other chemical hoods designed for the M9 series were the M4 (which looked similar to the M3 T.A.P. Hood, but was lighter in construction, and did not have a second layer of rubberized material). Design and Further History During the Korean War, the U.S. was still using the older WWII M3-10A1-6, M3A1-10A1-6, M4-10A1-6, and M4A1-10A1-6 Lightweight Service Masks, as well as the M8-11-10 Snout Type and M5-11-7 Army Assault Gas Masks (the M9 series was based off of and designed to replace the latter). Almost all of these masks had neoprene rubber facepieces or hoses (the M4 series sometimes had neoprene hoses), and neoprene rubber had a tendency to become very stiff in colder weather, making it difficult to open and don the mask. A replacement was needed, and fast! In 1948, the first protoype for the M9 was standardized as the E48 (E - Expiremental, 48 - 1948). It was a whole new type of layout - it had a moulded facepiece of supple black rubber, a C15 Outlet Valve mounted on the front near the chin using rubber cement glue, tightly twisted wire, and black fabric tape. It used a 60mm threaded filter inlet for the M11 Drum Filter attached to an opening on the side of the facepiece, which was connected to the moulded-in "mustache-type" tissot airflow deflector channels. These channels wrapped over the front-and-center of the facepiece, ending under each of the eyepieces. This gave the mask a rather humorous appearance of having a large, comical 'nose'. An oronasal cup was used in the mask. The M9's oronasal cup was improved from the types used on the M3 and M4 series lightweight masks, namely that the cup curled inwards towards the face rather than outwards away from it. This created a much better seal than the previous versions of the oronasal cup. The mask used a C8 head harness, which differed from the WWII M4 and M5 head harnesses. The WWII M4 and M5 harnesses had a triangular leather head pad to compensate for the harness's criss-cross arrangement. The C8 harness, on the other hand, had a rectangular head pad made of thick, black cotton duck fabric, and the straps were arranged by creasing in half at an angle, thus forming two straps. Also, the temple straps were not folded and simply went across the pad, much like the M4 and M5 harnesses. The E48 used a C15R1 Carrier, which was remarkably similar to the M7 Carrier used for the M5-11-7 Assault Mask, except the C15R1 had three "Lift the Dot" Snaps on the outside and was made of olive drab cotton duck fabric that was rubberized on the inside. Thehe M7 carrier, on the other hand, had four simple button snaps and was heavily rubberized on the inside and out, makng the carrier completely watertight. Later on in the early 1950's, the E48 was updated and standardized as the M9 Gas Mask. It was exactly the same as the E48, except that the M9 used a faceblank made of soft, supple, thick white natural rubber, instead of the black coloration used for the E48. Like the E48, the M9 was short-lived and not much information exists about it beyond what was already said about the E48. In 1952, the M9 was updated as the M9A1. The only thing that actually changed between the M9 and M9a1 was the carrier. The large and bulky C15R1 Carrier was replaced with a small, rectangular, M11 Carrier (this carrier was not rubberized and therefore not waterproof). The air-tight, vaccum-sealed tins the masks were issued in were changed as well - M9 tins, which were originally labeled "MASK, GAS, M9", had that marking brushed over with green paint, and were stamped over with "MASK PROTECTIVE, FIELD, M9A1". The E48 and M9, while short lived, were still a major part of the M9 family, and should not go without mention. Each M9/M9A1 came issued with an M9 facepeice with faceform tied in place, the M11 Drum Canister tied to the back of the faceform, a C15R1 (M9) or M11 (M9) carrier which had the mask stuffed inside and the Anti-Fog Cloth in the tin, which was usually stuck in the faceform with the M11 Filter. Other accessories for the M9/M9A1 series masks not originally issued with the mask include: M4 Chemical Hood: A rubberized nylon hood that covers all of the mask except the lenses and the filter opening. It has an olive drab nylon cord arounnd the neck to improve the seal, and is closed with a plastic plate with two holes in it where the ends of the cord are threaded through. Versions of this hood were made for the M8-11-10 Snout Type Mask as well as the M3 and M4 Lightweight Serivce Masks. MI Waterproofing Bag (issued with the M9A1 during the Vietnam War and after): A plastic bag with rubber bands inside it on a cardboard sleeve. This was meant to seal the bag with the mask inside to waterproof it when crossing rivers and streams. This was to compensate for the lack of waterproofing in the M11 Carrier. Optical Inserts: A special pair of glasses with frames that loop around the inside of the lenses. Meant for soldiers wiith vision defects. M3 T.A.P. Hood: Similar to the M4 Hood, but made of a thicker rubberized material with a second layer. Used for heavy decontamination and other similar tasks. M1 Winterization Kit: A rubberized fabric cover that helps the mask's rubber from becoming stiff in extreme cold. Covers everything but the lenses, "nose", and filter inlet. Also acts as a chemical hood. Extra Facts and Final Notes The M9 series were copied in several different countries, which include: Finland: M/61 - made of grey rubber, had three different models - Model 1: Most similar to the U.S. M9, very rare. Model 2: similar to the first model except for the longer outlet valve cover, very common. Model 3: Final, most common model, made by Nokia, which has the outlet valve made of plastic and has a built in voice diaphragm. Sweden: Skyddsmaske 51 - Similar in appearance to the M9A1, made of dark green rubber, has a similar outlet valve cover to the second model M/61. Fairly common. Japan: Type 2 Protective Mask - A fairly distant, but somewhat similar copy of the M9/M9A1. Made of light olive drab rubber, lenses are more rounded, outlet valve is made entirely of metal. VERY RARE. None exist in the U.S. Bulgaria: Unkown - Similar in appearance to the old E48 Gas Mask, being made entirely out of black rubber. Also used by the Iraqi military during the Gulf War. Rare/Scarce. South Korea: KM9A1 - Made of black rubber, similar once again to the E48. Very rare, but, unlike the Japanese Type 2, p ossible to find with a deal of luck. Yugoslavia/Serbia: M1/M2 Series - Made of an aqua-ish green rubber, the M1 had a similar carrier bag to the M11, and was the military counterpart of the MC-1, which had no oronasal cup, had "MC-1" stamped on the left side of the mask in black and used a different carrier. M2: made of the same color rubber, the M2 basically was an update of the M1. It had plastic frames instead of the metal ones used in the M1. A variant called the MC-2 had a drinking port. The M2 had two different types of outlet valves - one that was a plastic cage, and one with a green deflector. A model called the M2-F was made of all black rubber and had black parts, and resembled the Finnish Nokia M/61 (third model), for it had a similar outlet vallve/voice diaphragm assembly. Egypt: M2 - Licensed exact copy of the Serbian M2-F. Iraq: Uses the Bulgarian Copy and the Yugoslavian M1 (renamed the M-65.) The M9A1 had many strange isses and problems with the rubber, such the fact that the white rubber had a tendency to discolor a dark olive drab green if not taken care of properly. Badly discolored M9's confuse collectors, as they often mix up the Swedish Skyddsmaske 51 with the discolored M9. The easiest way to tell the difference is the forehead makrings - an M9 or M9A1 will have a "US" mark. The Skyddsmaske 51's also have longer outlet valve covers. Both the M9 and M9A1 were made in both right and left-handed models. The right-randed model has the canister on the left side of the facepiece and is the most commonly found. Left-handed versions had the canister on the right side of the facepiece and are rarer- they were needed less, and thus less were made. U.S. M9A1 Field Protective Masks aren't hard to find, and when found are often in unissued condition. It's a great, rugged mask, and a comfortable one at that. The inside perephery of the facepiece is textured to grip your face better, and while this may sound uncomfortable, it is in fact, much the opposite. The lower straps of the head harness system have an extra strap, which wraps around the nape of the neck, and fastens to the other side of the mask with a "Lift the Dot" snap on the end, making for a more secure fit. That is all I have too say about the M9 Series, and it's reign during the cold war. It's a lovely mask, and I highly reccomend buying it. Hope you enjoyed. Category:US Gas Masks Category:US Gas Masks